Dong-A Pharmaceutical Admits to 'Gender Discrimination in Interviews'... Posts Official Apology Statement

Dong-A Pharmaceutical 'Gender Discrimination Interview' Apology Statement (Image source=Captured from Dong-A Pharmaceutical website)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Dong-A Pharmaceutical, which faced controversy over 'gender-discriminatory interviews,' acknowledged and apologized for the presence of "questions constituting gender discrimination" during the interview process.

According to industry sources on the 23rd, Dong-A Pharmaceutical posted an apology on its official website on the 22nd under the name of CEO Choi Ho-jin, stating, "Dong-A Pharmaceutical apologizes for the presence of 'questions constituting gender discrimination' during the recruitment interviews held in the second half of 2020."

Earlier, victim A, who raised the issue, revealed that during the interview process at Dong-A Pharmaceutical in November last year, unlike male applicants, the interviewers asked her, a female candidate, questions such as "What do you think about the wage differences between men who have completed military service and women who have not?" and "If you are able to fulfill military service obligations, would you consider joining the military?"?questions she described as gender-discriminatory.

Additionally, A strongly criticized Dong-A Pharmaceutical’s apology posted as a comment on YouTube regarding this matter, stating, "The word 'gender discrimination' was never mentioned even once," and added, "They do not acknowledge the fact that they committed gender discrimination and are trying to close the incident by merely apologizing for asking unpleasant questions to the interviewee." In contrast, Dong-A Pharmaceutical’s recent apology explicitly described the questions as "constituting gender discrimination" and acknowledged that they violated the standards set by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s 'Gender-Equal Recruitment Guidelines.'

On the 22nd, Jung Young-ae, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, mentioned the incident during a meeting with Sohn Kyung-shik, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, saying, "Utilizing female talent is the trend of the times and a key to our country’s future and competitiveness," and added, "Considering the recent controversies over gender-discriminatory interviews during recruitment, it seems necessary to strengthen support to ensure gender-equal and fair hiring practices are established in workplaces."

Through the apology, Dong-A Pharmaceutical stated, "We have made efforts to establish systems and principles related to gender equality, such as operating a human rights committee composed equally of men and women," but admitted, "The incident occurred due to insufficient management and supervision during the implementation process," acknowledging the company’s fault.

Dong-A Pharmaceutical also announced measures to prevent recurrence, including ▲ re-examining the recruitment system and strengthening management and supervision ▲ reinforcing the human rights committee ▲ reviewing processes related to promotion, wages, and educational opportunities.

A, who had been demanding a sincere apology from Dong-A Pharmaceutical, expressed willingness to "accept Dong-A Pharmaceutical’s apology" and stated her intention to send Choi Ho-jin, CEO, a copy of author Cho Nam-joo’s Kim Ji-young, Born 1982 as a gesture of reconciliation. However, she emphasized that this does not "imply exemption from Dong-A Pharmaceutical’s wrongdoing" and insisted that the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s investigation and corresponding accountability and punishment must follow.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.